Lady Bucks fall to Park Vista in regional final 52-37

LAKE WORTH -- Emily Lochten's last season at Park Vista has been the best in Cobras history, and it's not over yet.

Lochten, the Cobras' only senior, scored nine points and had seven blocks as Park Vista beat Deerfield Beach 52-37 in Saturday night's Region 8A championship game to earn its first ever trip to the state tournament.

"It's the first time in Park Vista history. I'm a senior so it feels good to me that I'm a part of this," said Lochten, who left the game with 49 seconds left to a huge hug from coach Keith Mackrey and a standing ovation from the Cobra fans. "It feels amazing."

Lochten's post dominance was the centerpiece of the harassing, full-court pressure the Cobras (24-3) used to force early turnovers and rush the Bucks (19-9) into missing several open inside looks.

"She's my senior. She earned it," Mackrey said. "This was for her. I told her, 'Make it happen,' and she did."

Despite a rough start, which included an 0-for-6 first quarter from sharpshooting guard Morreante Williams, Deerfield stayed close with solid defense of its own. The Bucks were within four when Kiara Meeks, who had a game-high 21 points, hit the first of two 23-footers to help send Park Vista into the locker room up 26-18.

The Cobras opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run to go up 16 and seemed poised to run away with the game, but the Bucks had some fight left. An 8-0 run, capped by Brinesha Powell's steal and layup, cut the lead to 41-34 with 5:07 to play.

Deerfield then missed four straight chances to cut the lead to five or five, committing back-to-back turnovers before Jasmyne Martin's runner stretched the lead to nine.

"We spend an hour and a half every day in practice on defense," Mackrey said. "To me, that's what wins championships."